Monday, December 10, 2012

Baked Panko Sweet Potato Leek Pancakes (Latkes)

When Chanukah strolls around, if I can help it, I bake my potatoes latkes instead of, as traditionally done, frying them. Indian inspired latkes won't taste the same baked, with the gluten free chickpea flour in it. So certain recipes I will still fry in a little oil to achieve the best results. More often than not baked will be, if not identical, pretty close, and with a lot less hassle involved.

Rarely do I plan in advance when it comes to latkes. I typically use the veggies I have in my house and make a sensible combination of flavors. I had sesame leftover from a batch of Ka'ach I baked last night. I did not wish to add the leftover sesame seeds back into the spice jar, so I tossed them into the latkes. Somehow panko, sweet potatoes and sesame seeds, rang right.

This post is part of a 1st annual Chanukah Blog Hop party hosted by Leah of Cook Kosher and Miriam of Overtime Cook. We've got a fabulous array of Chanukah themed recipes, treats and crafts from around the world. Scroll down to the links for all the delicious treats.

Preheat oven to 400F. Brush 2 parchment paper lined cookie sheets with vegetable oil. Add all ingredients, other than oil for brushing, into a large bowl and mix well. Form 18 pancakes and lay on 2 paper line cookie trays. Bake on the middle rack of the oven for 30-40 minutes or until golden, flip with a spatula and continue baking at 400F for an additional 5 minutes or until golden on the flipped side.

Cook's notes: You might wish to process sweet potatoes, onions and leek in a food processor for a rough or fine chop to save time. That will also make sure all ingredients cook at the same rate, as the leek, in strand form, might cook faster than the pancake itself. I personally like how the strands crisp up.

Wow to all of it. Beautiful latkes and I am sure my men would prefer baked to fried. Lovely flavors. I have 6 more days to make them! Great round up of holiday recipes, Shulie! Happy Hannukah, dear xox

TY so much for dropping by. Am sure to visit your site and check out your tasty recipes. Great blog hop introducing people to each other. My facebook http://www.facebook.com/pages/FoodWanderings/154585894570712?fref=ts and on twitter @doowanderings https://twitter.com/foodwanderings Thx again!

Thanks for sharing a baked/healthier option of this chanuka classic. So much easier to keep to my diet with a variation like this! really looking forward to visiting your blog again. Gigi. food and beauty blogger @ www.gigikkitchen.blogspot.com

Sweet potato latkes...what a fabulous idea!! I love latkes, and I always look forward to all the recipes for them this time of year. Thank you for sharing something different...will be adding this to my latkes collection!

I would love to go this Hanukkah party with all this delicious food! Your latkes look so good. I never had them with leeks and would really like to try it:) We had some latkes tonight and I thought of you;)

I really want to try your recipe, which will be a fun and healthy alternative to our typical Chanukah food indulgences. Not sure what is panko, and I probably can't anything like it where I live (in Israel), so what can be substituted?

Hi Fonda, Panko is Japanese bread crumbs. You can find it in Israel. My sister uses them for making schnitzel. She buys them in a regular supermarket in Givatayim, Israel. If you cannot find it, you can use regular bread crumbs.